Stellar Toolkit for MS SQL – Software Review

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An SQL database administrator is responsible for multiple crucial tasks like the upkeep of the server, backing up and restore when needed, installing of updates, performing repair and recovery if needed, etc. Thus he needs to really know his way around the server. And by that we mean he needs not only to know the best practices of handling SQL needs but also the best ways to get around unexpected issues that can crop up unannounced.

In addition to manual techniques like scripts and cmdlets, an SQL administrator must also be aware of the right tools and automated utilities which can prove to be life-savers in disaster situations if manual techniques don’t work. This fact has created a huge market for automated applications for performing various minor and major SQL functionalities.

In our ongoing attempts to evaluate the best products in this category, we recently came across quite a competent SQL toolkit which was a bundle of 3 unique and powerful products dedicated to performing SQL server activities. Developed by Stellar Data Recovery, the Stellar Toolkit for MS SQL is a software package consisting of Stellar Repair for MS SQL, Stellar Backup Extractor for MS SQL, and Stellar Password Recovery for MS SQL, all of which are ace products in their separate categories. Through this review of SQL database toolkit, we’re trying to highlight the best aspects of these 3 utilities and demonstrate how they helped us solve critical issues in a test environment.

Stellar Repair for MS SQL, Stellar Backup Extractor for MS SQL, and Stellar Password Recovery for MS SQL, all of which are ace products in their separate categories. Through this review of SQL database toolkit, we’re trying to highlight the best aspects of these 3 utilities and demonstrate how they helped us solve critical issues in a test environment.

Stellar Toolkit for MS SQL – Basic Overview

This toolkit consists of 3 unique products aimed at solving different problem scenarios for the SQL Server Database:

  • Corrupt SQL Server Database
  • Inaccessible SQL Backup File
  • Forgotten or Lost SQL Server Password (User & Admin)

Having this one toolkit solves all these troubles for you conveniently. All products within the toolkit come with their own interactive GUI with detailed instructions for operating them. The toolkit can be easily downloaded and installed on any system that confirms to the following specifications:

  • Processor: Pentium Class
  • Operating System: Windows Server 2012 / 2008 / 2003 and Windows 10 / 8.1 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP
  • Memory: 1 GB minimum (2 GB recommended)
  • Hard Disk: At least 50 MB of free disk space

Once you’ve downloaded and installed the toolkit, launch it and from the main software interface select the product you wish to use as per need. Since we were carrying out a detailed software review of SQL database toolkit, we ran all three of the applications included within the toolkit one by one on a test database. The summary of our findings have been described in the subsequent sections.

Stellar Repair for MS SQL

As the name suggests, this software is dedicated to eradicating damage and corruption issues from SQL Database files (MDF and NDF). It works in a 3-step approach (select, scan, and recover) to fix problems within SQL server files and recover inaccessible objects like tables, triggers, indexes, keys, rules & stored procedures.

To see if the software actually lived up to its claims, we ran it on a badly corrupted MDF file that was causing the server to throw nasty errors every time an attempt was made to attach it. Here were the steps we used to resolve the issue:

  • We launched the toolkit’s executable and picked Stellar Phoenix SQL Database Repair from the main screen. Quite intuitively the tool displayed the message “Stop MS SQL Server and copy the database to a different location. Restart the server and repair the copy of the database”.
  • After doing as instructed, we reached the screen where we needed to pick the database files to be repaired either by:
    • Browsing to the location at which they were located on the system, or
    • Finding them from a drive on the system

The ‘Search’ option would definitely be helpful for users who are unaware of MDF file’s location. So here the software earned points for being user-friendly.

  • Next, we clicked on the “Repair” button and the tool quickly scanned the MDF file and displayed recoverable data within the left hand panel.
  • We were given the option to conveniently preview any item we wanted to from the list displayed in the left-hand panel and select the exact files to be recovered
  • Click on Save button.

Stellar Backup Extractor for MS SQL

If SQL Database Repair is the ultimate MDF / NDF file repair application, Stellar Backup Extractor for MS SQL is the one-stop solution for performing SQL backup file (BAK) repair. The product lets you pull out backups from severely corrupted / damaged SQL BAK files and regain access to all that critical data.

This is how the product helped extract database from our damaged BAK file:

  • From the main screen of the application, we selected the backup file from a known system location. We also had the option to find it on the system.
  • Next, we clicked on “Scan” to enable the software to do its work. It listed all backups saved within the BAK file
  • We picked the backup from which we wanted to recover data and clicked on “Next”
  • All recoverable objects within that BAK file were listed within the left hand panel. From here we previewed selected items
  • Thereafter, we checked the checkboxes adjacent to the items we wished to recover and clicked on “Save” from the top menu
  • Finally we picked an output format and other saving options and click on “OK”

When the tool finished working, the resultant file got saved at the destination we picked containing all information that we expected.

Stellar Password Recovery for MS SQL

The administrator password or any other user password for SQL server is a critical bit of information that one cannot afford to lose. In case it gets compromised or gets lost, you can end up being completely barred from accessing your database information. But with Stellar Phoenix SQL Password Recovery, you can reset your server password easily.

This is how the software helped us reset the password to our encrypted MDF file:

  • First we were required to stop the SQL server instance and copy the master data file to another location
  • Then on launching the application we observed that it could easily read all logins mentioned within our master data file and display them within its interface.
  • We selected our login account and clicked on the “Change Password” button
  • Keyed-in a new password and it was done!

Stellar Toolkit for MS SQL – Pros & Cons

In a summarized manner, here are the best aspects of the toolkit:

  • It lets us selectively recover data from damaged MDF files and BAK files
  • It provides convenient options on the top menu including one pointing to helpful KB articles for the product
  • We have the option to save repaired data in multiple formats
  • It comes with a GUI so working is hassle-free

While Database Repair and Backup Recovery didn’t have any noticeable cons, the Password Recovery tool did draw our attention to one troubling fact:

  • The tool makes it possible for any user to log into any account through a simple password change, and thus, in the wrong hands it can prove to be quite dangerous

Final Verdict

In this software review of SQL database toolkit we tried to cover the specifications, working, benefits, and shortcomings of the different applications it includes. All in all, the toolkit impressed us with its sheer utility and user-friendliness. Plus it was quite affordable. In our opinion, every SQL administrator should seriously consider keeping this software bundle handy.

How to Fix SQL Server Error 3041

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SQL Server error 3041

Summary: Microsoft SQL Database often gets stuck in nasty errors that can be difficult to resolve. In this article, we’ll focus on SQL database error 3041, what it is, reasons for database error 3041, and how to resolve it.

SQL Server 2017 has been developed with a lot of advanced features over its predecessors. It supports ANSI SQL, which is the standard SQL Language used worldwide. It is also called as MSSQL, and it has various editions like Enterprise, Standard, Workgroup, and Express. SQL Server’s main interface tool is SQL Server Management Studio, and it supports both 32-bit as well as 64-bit environments.

Despite having a rock-solid foundation and an impressive feature set, SQL Server Database often gets stuck in errors, some of which may be difficult to handle even for experienced DBAs. One such error is SQL database error 3041.

What is SQL Server error 3041?

SQL Server error 3041 occurs when there is a backup failure. It might happen with the entire database backup or with specific parts of the database. It appears when the database backup is being generated. The error message provides a description of the backup failure in the error log and to the client application.

To understand the exact cause of the error, you will have to go through the SQL server error log entries which occurred before the 3041 error came up.

[Note]: The detailed error message does not get reported in the Application log.

Reasons behind SQL Server error 3041

Various reasons behind this error are listed below.

  • Running a third-party application to back up SQL Databases can cause this error. Applications like LiteSpeed and Unitrends can cause error 3041 as they use VDI/VSS and VSS writer for backing up the database.
  • This error comes up when the backup path doesn’t exist. For example, D:\Backup is the folder location for the backup. If it doesn’t exist there anymore, or you are using an incorrect path, it will result in this error.
  • If the backup file is locked by any other process, then the backup process will fail and result in this error.
  • If there are permission issues with the backup folder, restricting the account with which you are trying to back up the database.
  • If the database log space is not sufficient, it will result in error 3041. The database will remain busy in increasing the log size space, and thus backup task will not be successful.
  • When you have migrated to a newer version of SQL database, this error might come up.

How to solve SQL database error 3041?

As we have seen the reasons behind the error, now let us see how we can resolve this error. You can use the below fixes one by one and see if it resolves the issue.

Fix 1: Take a full native backup

Firstly, take a full native backup of your database using the SQL Server Management Studio. You can also use the Query Analyzer for the same.

Once you have taken the full backup, you need to restart the VSS writer from the third-party applications. Now backup the model database from the third-party applications and the transaction backup log should be successful.

Fix 2: Check the location of the backup path

Ensure that the backup path location that you are using is correct and the folder exists there. Also, make sure that there are no trailing spaces in the folder name, as it can result in mismatch while the backup process is going on.

Fix 3: Check if the backup file is locked

If your backup file is locked by any other process, then you need to close the file. Here are the steps to close the file.

  1. Go to Computer Management.
  2. Navigate to System Tools -> Shared Folders.
  3. Open Files. There you can see the backup files.
  4. Right-click the backup file and click “Close.”

Once the above steps are complete, you can take the backup. If the backup is still not successful, then you will have to stop client scheduler and client acceptor services. Here are the steps to do so.

  1. Go to Computer Management.
  2. Navigate to Services and Applications.
  3. Go to Services -> Client acceptor and scheduler.
  4. Stop services.
  5. Go to the backup folder and then delete the file.
  6. Now start the services again and try taking up the backup.

Fix 4: Grant full control on the backup folder

You need to provide full control on the SQL Server service account as well as the account using which you are trying to take the backups. If the permissions are restricted, you won’t be able to take the backup successfully.

Fix 5: Check database log space

When a backup is performed on the SQL Server database, there is a corresponding entry created in MSDB backup set table. You need to make sure that the log files and data of MSDB is not set to auto-growth. If it set to auto-growth, you need to disable it.

Also, make sure there is a sufficient amount of free space on the disk drive where the MSDB files are generated. After doing so, you can reschedule the backup job.

Fix 6: Check for corruption in the database

The database should be free from any type of corruption. Therefore, check for all the configuration changes you have made, and make sure that you restart the system whenever a new database is added to the server and full back up is taken after restarting the machine.

If you find that there is corruption in the database, the best way to resolve it is by using Stellar Repair for MS SQL. This advanced SQL Database Repair software detects the root cause of database corruption and rectifies it to resolve database corruption. The tool is equipped with an interactive GUI which makes working with it extremely easy.

To Conclude

SQL Database error 3041 can occur anytime when you are trying to take a backup of your database. So, if you run into trouble with this error, you can use the fixes mentioned above to resolve it. So, what are your views on this? Do let us know in the comments section below.

SharePoint folder deletion error: Cannot delete/checked out issue

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File checked out for edit

Recently I have seen an issue where user was unable to delete a folder in a SharePoint online document library because a file was checked out for editing by a user. An in folder there was not file with pending checkout. And mandatory checkout was disabled on the document library.

Solution:

There were mandatory fields metadata fields on the SharePoint document library and documents were copied in bulk in folder view and due to mandatory fields, documents status automatically changes to checked out to the current user. As you know that a document will not be shown to the users until unless it should have atleast one minor version. So, there can be another issue that users were unable to view uploaded content.

Now how to verify that, go to the document library settings and click on Manage files which have no checked in version link. This will show you all the files without checked in version.

Manage files with no checked in version

You can either asked the person to check in these files or can take the owner ship of the files and check in by yourself.

One important thing is that you need to provide the mandatory metadata fields values. In my scenario, I have to delete folders so I have remove the required field check from the list columns and checked in all files and after that changed the status of list columns to required (as it was originally set).

Lesson:

If you are copying bulk data in document library, then you have to provide the metadata for mandaoty fields. But if you want to show documents to business users so they can update the metadata fields then you need to disable the required fields and enable it again after copying all data.

Get list of all hidden lists in a SharePoint Site

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You can hide lists and libraries in a SharePoint site using SharePoint designer or PowerShell cmdlet which can be using for different operations. There are several hidden lists in SharePoint which exists in a SharePoint site just like workflow history list, User Information list and many others which have different usage in SharePoint. Below screenshot shows the list of hidden SharePoint lists which an be found at the root site.

PowerShell Script to generate report of hidden lists

Below is a simple PowerShell script which I used to generate report of hidden lists. I have written a function GetHiddenListDetail which take the site url and return the list of all hidden list on that specific site.

Use below cmdlet for executing the above function, in below cmdlet I have added the site URL and used grid view to show the data.

Get Hidden lists using PowerShell

SharePoint Modern UI: Using Sites web part page

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The new Site’s web part allows users to show the logged in user’s current sites or you can also customize it to show specific sites. On my opinion it’s a very useful web party introduced with SharePoint Modern UI which an end user can easily configure. It minimized the effort to create custom web part or adding links on the page for different sites.

Note: This will only show sites on which user have access.

Adding Sites web part on the page

This web part can only be added on Modern UI pages, you can not add this on classic pages. If you already have a modern page then edit the page to add the web part, if not then create a modern UI page and follow below steps to add the web part:

  1. Edit the page by clicking on Edit link available on top right of the page if page is not in edit mode.
  2. Click on the + sign on the web part region where you want to add the Site’s web part.

SharePoint Modern UI add web part

  1. It will show you a dialog to select the web part. Double click the Site’s web part to add on the page.

SharePoint add sites web part

  1. Click on the web part’s Edit link to edit web part properties where you have to option to select frequent sites for current user or you can select specific sites.

Sharepoint edit Sites web part

  1. You can also see the option to select a layout.
  2. Save the changes and publish the pages so changes can be available to all users.

SharePoint Modern UI Sites web part

  1. There are three different layouts available which can select editing the web part properties.

Looking Forward to Decrypting SQL Server Database Objects? Know the Right Way

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Are you searching for an easy technique of decrypting SQL Server database objects? Look no further, as you have landed on the right page. Keep patience and read on this blog to know more.

SQL Server database is undoubtedly one of the most popular solutions for relational DB management. Organizations of all sizes worldwide use SQL database to store and manage their business-critical data. However, this database is not free from bugs and got many security glitches. Therefore, SQL Server database can become victim of hacking attacks that may result in a large amount of data theft and data loss.

When it comes to protecting SQL database, database admins have to be cautious. Since unprotected SQL databases are the soft targets for the hackers, DBAs take proper preventive measures to safeguard the database. One of the approaches to secure the database is encrypting the database. Once the database objects have been encrypted, no one can access the data without decrypting it.

So we can see that database decryption is equally important as database encryption. Sadly enough, many users have no clue how to decrypt SQL database stored procedures, views, functions, triggers, etc., objects. For them, we are going to describe a complete solution for decrypting SQL database objects. Using this all-in-one approach, users can effortlessly decrypt all the encrypted database objects. Before that, let’s find out about database encryption and decryption in brief.

What is SQL Database Encryption and Decryption

Starting from SQL Server 2005 version, users can encrypt their database in order to strengthen the data security by protecting it from any unauthorized access. With encryption, the data of the database become incomprehensible. Before decrypting, no one can access the database. During the process of decryption, the database encryption is removed with the help of encryption key or third-party applications. Both encryption and decryption are significant for SQL users who want to ensure their database.

Decrypting SQL Server Database Objects – Step-by-Step

In every SQL database, there are different objects. In order to decrypt the database objects manually, users have to use different scripts. Since it takes a lot of time to execute the scripts and the whole process is surely a complex one, not everyone can perform it. But we bring you a short and simple method that anyone can implement. Using SysTools SQL Decryptor Tool, users can decrypt all the database objects like views, triggers, functions, stored procedures, etc. without any trouble. If you are interested in decrypting SQL Server database objects, here is the detailed instruction for you.

  • Start SQL Decryptor Application and click on Start.

  • Connect to SQL Server page will appear that will automatically fetch the connected Server name that you need to select from the drop-down list. If it does not fetch, you need to enter the Server name manually.

 

  • Choose the Login mode. In absence of user credentials required for SQL Server Authentication, you can always choose Windows Authentication at this stage.

  • Click on Drop down button to fetch the database name.

  • All the encrypted objects of that database will be previewed on the page.Users can have a look on the preview and select the objects they need from various views, triggers, stored procedures, and functions.
  •  To move the decrypted database into a Live SQL Server, choose the option “SQL Server” option. If you do not want to export it to any live Server instance, select “SQL Server Compatible SQL Scripts” to save the decrypted SQL Server database objects in script format.Choose Output modes: Without Encryption or With Encryption. User need to add Database name. to fetch data in it.Click on Export button

Conclusion

Encryption of SQL database views, functions, triggers, and stored procedures is a great way to protect the database from the hackers, especially when there is a requirement of transferring the database. In this blog, we have described the ultimate method of decrypting SQL Server database objects. With the help of SQL Decryptor software, users can decrypt their database objects in a short time and without any complexity.

FAQs Regarding SQL Decryptor

Q. 1: I do not want to decrypt my entire database, rather some selective views and functions, Can I do that using SQL Decryptor?

Ans: Yes, the software allows users to select partial data from all the encrypted objects. All you have to do is to check the boxes beside the required items.

Q. 2: Is there any prerequisite that I have to meet before using this tool? I want to make sure before purchasing it.

Ans: There are two basic pre requirements of this application: Dedicated Admin Connection (DAC) should be enabled and Microsoft .NET framework 4.5 should be present. Also, Windows 10, 8.1, 7, or Vista users should “Run as Administrator“.

Q. 3: I use SQL Server 2019 version and looking for a tool that can decrypt database stored procedure of the latest SQL instance version. Does this application support the latest SQL versions?

Ans: Yes, the SQL Database Decryptor utility is compatible with all the latest version of SQL Server including 2019, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2008, 2005 and 2000.

Q. 4: I am confused between Windows Authentication and SQL Server Authentication. Can you tell the difference between these two?

Ans: If users choose SQL Server Authentication as their Login Mode, they have to enter SQL Server credentials (username and password). In case of Windows Authentication, users do not have to enter any other info.

Q. 5: Is there any trial version available for this application?

Ans: Yes, users can download the free trial/ demo version of SQL Decryptor from the official website. After being satisfied with the performance, they can purchase the full version.

SharePoint Modern UI: Activity web part

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Activity web part is a modern UI web part which is available in SharePoint modern UI pages, you can add a modern ui page in classic team site.

The modern activity web part shows the activities on the site from different users which include add/edit documents, creation of new list and libraries etc. You do not need to do any configuration on the web part, just drop the web part on the page and it will start showing all the recent activities.

Adding Site Activity web part

  1. Open a modern UI page in Edit mode, or click on Edit link available on top right of the page (make sure you have the required permissions.

SharePoint Modern UI add web part

  1. On Edit page, click on the + icon shown in above screenshot. This will open up a small dialog list different web parts for modern ui page.
  2. You can select by navigating to the Site Activity web part or by can also search through search box.

SharePoint activity web part

  1. It will load the recent activities on the site, you can save the changes or can also edit web part properties to show number of items/activities to be shown in Site Activity web part.

Sharepoint edit activity web part

  1. Save all the changes and publish the web part.

Know SQL Server High Availability and Disaster Recovery Options

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SQL Server is used by many medium and large sized companies and enterprises for database management. Most of these organizations have a booming business, which means increasing number of employees and ever-growing size of database. For all the companies who use SQL Server for their database, High Availability (HA) and Disaster Recovery (DR) are two important aspects.

Having an effective HA & DR policy helps companies to avoid business downtime and achieve maximum productivity. Here we will depict some solution to have High Availability and Disaster Recovery in SQL Server. But before that, let us learn about High Availability and Disaster Recovery.

  • High Availability

SQL Server High Availability means 24×7 availability of database for seamless usage even during planned or sudden outages. It is important to ensure High Availability in case of some catastrophic events.

  • Disaster Recovery

A disaster can affect your database in no time and cause you immense inconvenience. With a Disaster recovery plan, you can easily avoid loss of mission-critical data from your SQL database. Since HA of a database cannot ensure the correctness of the data, users should also have a good DR plan in place. A good disaster plan should be able to tackle all type of man-made or natural disasters. It is always advised to have High Availability and Disaster Recovery plans together.

SQL Server High Availability and Disaster Recovery Options

In this section, we will discuss some methods that should be included in the HA & DR plan for your organization.

  • Clustering

Clustering is a nice way to ensure High Availability. It covers us during Server failure but does not work in case of SAN failure. When Storage area network (SAN) does not work, cluster also goes down. For this reason, clustering cannot be used during Disaster Recovery.

  • Replication

Replication is a good solution for Disaster Recovery. But in this process, we do not copy the entire database. Rather, we copy some certain components like tables, views and other objects. It means that the secondary SQL database is not a carbon copy of the primary database. Since the replicated database provides delayed response, it is not considered as a solution for High Availability.

  • Log Shipping

Just like the earlier two methods, log shipping also involves both primary and secondary databases. With this method enables, log backups of primary database will take place in the secondary database in a scheduled interval(e. g. after every 5 minutes.) However, the problem arises if the Server closes down within this 5 minutes. Then you lose your data. Despite this disadvantage, it can be used as a measure for Disaster Recovery.

  • Database Mirroring

Database Mirroring can be a part of HA & DR policy. We can have only one copy of the primary database. If we have more than that, we are unable to read from secondary server. The database in secondary server will be in recovery mode.

  • Backup

Database backup is a popular and effective process often done for Disaster Recovery. Regular full backup can be restored in the database become irreparably infected or data get deleted accidentally.

What to Do in Absence of HA & DR Policy

It is possible that you have not got any policy SQL Server High Availability and Disaster Recovery policy. If any disaster happens in such situations resulting into loss of data, SQL Recovery software can be a helpful solution. This application can get you back your lost data from SQL database, whether they are accidentally or intentionally deleted. Its compatibility with all the major SQL Server versions including 2017, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2008 R2, makes it an all-rounder tool.

Conclusion

Having a well-researched SQL Server High Availability and Disaster Recovery policy and its implementation is a prerequisite to proper SQL management. Every organisation with SQL Server should have a proper HA & DR policy in place based on the requirement. If there is no such policy and some database tables got deleted. You can recover those tables’ data using SQL Recovery.

Get SharePoint list detail for a site

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This is one of the important reports to get details of list information for a SharePoint site or all sub sites under a site collection. I am sharing a PowerShell script which I have written for SharePoint online. I used SharePoint list properties to get details about the list title, Creation date, Last modified data, Date for last item deletion, No. of items in a list, Base Template, List GUID and few more.

The script is very simple, and you can easily modify it to get more properties. You can get the details of lists from different sites by using the below script by calling GetListDetails multiple times or modify so it can navigate through all sites.

PowerShell script to get report of all SharePoint Online lists

Below is the script to get list details for a SharePoint site:

You need to call the GetListDetail function which will generate the report for all the SharePoint lists. Below is the detail for function call and report output.

Get detail of all lists using PowerShell

Does DBCC CHECKDB Fix Errors? Know the Facts

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If you are a SQL database user, you must get different errors once in a while. And when you get these errors, you look for native solutions. One such popular command in DBCC CHECKDB. Its reputation and frequent usage often make users think that this command is the absolute solution to get rid of any SQL error. In order to confirm, people also ask, does DBCC CHECKDB fix errors on SQL database? Here, we take the opportunity to answer this common query. Besides, we will also discuss what does DBCC CHECKDB do, how long does the command take to repair and alternative to DBCC CHECKDB.

“Our SQL database became damaged in some way and therefore, users are facing different errors. Before trying some utilities, I would like to try the manual techniques to fix SQL database errors. Kindly tell me does DBCC CHECKDB fix errors? I will proceed with this method only after confirmation. I am looking for answers from subject-matter experts.”

What Does DBCC CHECKDB Do?

DBCC CHECKDB is a commonly used command that can check database consistency of SQL Server. Its main function is to inspect the physical (data files) and logical (log files) integrity of SQL database. The execution of this command will repair corrupt and damaged SQL Server database only to a certain level. If the SQL errors are caused by mild corruptions, DBCC CHECKDB
command can fix those errors.

How Long Does DBCC CHECKDB Take

People, who are interested to run this command, also like to know how long does this command take to fix errors. Well, there is no fixed time frame for this command. The total time taken by this command to perform depends on several things, such as:

The Amount of Data in Database: If you have a huge amount of data stored in your database, the command will take time to check and fix the database.

The Strength of the System: If the power of the server and/or I/O subsystem is not sufficient compared to the database complexity, DBCC CHECKDB will take more time than the usual.

Database Schema Complexity: If numerous features are used in a database, the CHECKDB command will take more time.

Database Corruptions: Depending on the severity of the database corruption, DBCC CHECKDB will take time to fix the errors.

Tempdb Database Configuration: DBCC CHECKDB uses tempdb database to save the data extracted while checking the intermediate consistency. Poorly configured tempdb database can cause the command to work slow.

How to Run DBCC CHECKDB Command in SQL Server

Now, we will learn about different DBCC CHECKDB commands that can be used to get rid of the inconsistencies of database. Depending on the corruptions, three types of DBCC CHECKDB commands are usually used for repairing database damages.
a) REPAIR_FAST: This command option manages syntax for backward database compatibility. Do not run this command to repair database as it cannot perform that function.

b) REPAIR_REBUILD: If you suspect that the database is having some minor corruptions, you can run this DBCC CHECKDB command. When your database requires quick repairing in situations such as index rebuilding and missing non-clustered index rows, this command is ideal. Remember that FILESTREAM data related errors cannot be fixed using this command. Since it deals with minor corruptions, data loss does not occur when it is implemented.

c) REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS: This command can be applied only under certain circumstances. Only if your database is severely damaged and no last good backup of your database is available for restoration, this command should be used. The reason for this caution can be understood if we carefully check the name. The name itself says that by running this command, users are allowing data loss from their database. The command deleted all the corrupt data and retains only the healthy ones. Thus, it bears high chance of data loss while fixing the database errors.

Remember: Users should not consider REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS command as a substitute to good database backup and restore.

Is There An Alternative to DBCC CHECKDB

DBCC CHECKDB REPAIR_ALLOW_DATA_LOSS command is not the most reliable solution to fix SQL database error. Hence, users search for an alternative to DBCC CHECKDB command. For data loss free SQL database repairing, users must opt for MDF Database Repair Tool. The advanced features of this software make any database completely corruption free. Even if some data have been deleted due to corruption, this software retrieves the deleted data too. This application can be utilized for repairing both MDF and NDF database files. The healthy database can be exported into live SQL database or as SQL compatible scripts. The tool is compatible with all the latest versions of SQL Server including SQL Server 2017.

Conclusion

The discussion of this write-up answers the question, does DBCC CHECKDB fix errors? We have explained that the functionality of this command in terms of fixing errors and corruption is limited. That is why, users often choose the alternative to DBCC CHECKDB, SQL Recovery Tool for fixing errors. This tool safely resolves the database corruption issues without losing any data.